A newly formed alliance of seven Madhes-based political parties in Nepal on Friday announced a fresh bout of agitation from Saturday and boycott of the June 14 local elections to be held mostly in the Terai/Madhes belt.
A press statement by Rastriya Janata Party Nepal (RJPN) announced a series of protests aimed at obstructing the local elections, including call for strikes on June 2 and 3 -- the days set by the Election Commission to file nominations for the second phase of the local polls.
RJPN leaders, who held a meeting in national capital Kathmandu, complained that several accords inked between the Nepal government and Madhes-based parties in the past have not been implemented.
They also rued that cases registered against Madhesi leaders had not been withdrawn, the increase in the number of new local units in Terai/Madhes was not enough and that thousands of eligible voters in the Terai had been left out.
With the RJPN decision, the fate of the June 14 second-phase local polls in 483 units in four provinces will be thrown into uncertainty if the government fails to redress the grievances.
However, a splinter group of Madhes-based Sanghiya Samajbadi Forum, led by Upendra Yadav, will participate in the local polls.
The RJPN has been demanding amendment to the 20-month-old Nepali Constitution prior to June 14 elections and also expressed dissatisfaction over increase in the number of local units in the country's southern belt by 22.
"If our demands are not met prior to the elections, we will not take part in the local polls," the alliance said in a statement while announcing a series of protests from Saturday.
In a bid to persuade Madhesi parties to ensure their participation in the local polls, the government had decided to increase the number of local units in the Terai region.
But the RJPN said the increase was not in line with the population ratio, and rejected the government's move.
The alliance also expressed dissatisfaction over not getting an electoral symbol to fight the local polls.
The issue has been further complicated after the Supreme Court ordered the Nepal government not to implement the decision to increase the number of local units.
Nepal has already held local elections in 283 local units in three provinces on May 14, whose results indicate that the main opposition Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxists-Leninists) is leading over the Nepali Congress, which is the largest party in Nepal's Parliament.
--IANS
giri/tsb/dg
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
